Extract text from PC Engine music files (HES)
To convert HES music files to another format, you need Audio Overload or other Audio software.
To convert other file formats to the "Chiptune Audio File" file type, you need software like Audio Overload or a similar tool.
The .HES (Hudson Entertainment System) file is a specialized chiptune audio format used to store music and sound effects ripped directly from classic PC Engine and TurboGrafx-16 video games. Rather than containing recorded waveform audio, it stores the actual machine code and instructions required to drive the console's custom HuC6280 sound chip.
Historically, users played these files using dedicated emulation software such as the HES Music Player, Audio Overload, or Winamp equipped with the NEZplug plugin.
The primary disadvantage of the .HES format is its extreme lack of compatibility. Because it is a proprietary, emulation-based format, it cannot be natively opened by modern web browsers, smartphones, or standard media players. It requires significant processing overhead to emulate the original hardware just to produce sound.
To listen to these tracks on modern devices, you must convert .HES files to standard audio formats like MP3, FLAC, or WAV. Converting to WAV is recommended to accurately capture the exact output of the emulated sound chip without introducing compression artifacts.
This file format is notably difficult to open or convert because standard online audio converters lack the necessary PC Engine hardware emulation core to process the embedded machine code. Often, only the original emulation software or specialized retro audio plugins can properly read and export the data to a standard audio stream. Despite this, convert.guru offers a pragmatic workaround. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view its internal header text, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects a supported embedded audio stream, you can quickly bypass these restrictions.
Convert.Guru analyzes your HES file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted VGZ, RME, HCOM and INRS files.
If you want to convert HES file to MP3, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, WMA, M4A, AIFF, OPUS, ALAC, APE or WV, you can use Audio Overload or similar software from the "Retro Game Audio Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MIDI, AAC, TTA, AU, WV, DTS, MID, FLAC, RA, MP3, PCM or WAV files to HES, try Audio Overload or another comparable tool in the "Retro Game Audio Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our HES converter.